Probe casts shadow on Rubio

A widening federal criminal investigation into the state Republican Party’s credit card usage is unsettling the Florida GOP Senate primary, raising concerns about its potential effect on GOP front-runner Marco Rubio’s campaign and providing hope to Democrats who believe it could be the story line that stalls the surging conservative’s momentum.

The Internal Revenue Service is now exploring the tax records of Rubio, former state party Chairman Jim Greer and former GOP Executive Director Delmar Johnson to determine whether they improperly used party credit cards for personal expenses, according to a joint report Wednesday by the Miami Herald and the St. Petersburg Times.

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The inquiry, which stemmed from the indictment of former state House Speaker Ray Sansom, will in part focus on the more than $100,000 Rubio charged to a state party American Express card during the two years he was House speaker. In addition, the FBI is looking into whether Sansom and others made false statements on their tax returns.

The probe has cast a shadow over the GOP primary, in which Florida Gov. Charlie Crist must soon decide whether to remain a candidate or run as an independent. The governor has targeted Rubio’s credit card spending for months, arguing that it undercuts his fiscal conservative credentials. To date, however, the scrutiny hasn’t registered much of an impact, as Rubio has built a double-digit lead in polls and recently raked in a jaw-dropping quarterly fundraising haul.

But Democrats insist the latest developments in the investigation will grab the attention of a wider pool of voters.

“The more entities are looking at it, the more serious it is in the eyes of voters,” said Dave Beattie, a Florida Democratic pollster. “It provides the opportunity to tie these spending problems directly to Rubio. It reinforces the image of a typical politician. And voters ascribe to the ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’ belief when it comes to politicians.”

“I think Kendrick’s the guy who is sitting around, who is enjoying this whole thing. I would encourage him to jump on it. I think it’s an opportunity for him,” Schale said.

The Meek campaign said it was closely following the story to gauge its impact, pointedly noting that while Rubio is the focus of the investigation, Crist was closely linked to Greer, who served as his handpicked party chairman.